Phones Tie Me to You
by Goku's Daughter
Summary: The phone is amazing. It no longer made distance a barrier when she was in another dimension, away from him. Not that distance should bother him… A short account on their journey with their phone and how it sort of complicated their relationship.


**Hey**

Ichigo sighed as his face collapsed in the palms of his hands. His mood was rather foul, and he didn't know exactly why. Okay, that was a lie. Ever since that morning, she was gone. She hadn't said where she was going, or how long she would be gone, and he remembered a time where he didn't care what she did, but for some reason _today_ he did. Ever since she came back and made herself an _almost permanent figure_ in his life (almost permanent because she still came in and out of Soul Society), it was strange that he didn't hear from her today. Was she returning? Why did she go? Why would she keep something from him? And now, with his radio clock illuminating a bright red two AM figure, Ichigo scratched the back of his head and sighed once again. What annoyed him even more was that it was Renji who came, whispered some secret news to her, which had caused her to laugh, turn serious and then…leave.

Something bitter washed through Kurosaki.

After Renji had told her the news, his hand touched her back gently. The two shinigami then left Ichigo's room, spoke more quietly to themselves, and when Ichigo saw them again, she said she had to go back. Her eyes had flickered back and forth to Renji, about five times, and for a weird reason _that_ had annoyed Ichigo too.

It was even more irritating that carrot-top had kept looking over at his left to see her, to glance at her, in the classroom. It was a terrible habit, he had realized. If anyone was counting, he probably did it at least ten times in the morning. And after lunch, maybe more, because that was when they had a more relaxed period.

Terrible habit, he mused, frowning.

Now it was two-oh-five. He should really be sleeping, and not be thinking about this. Or at least get distracted by something else.

Hollows!

Ichigo turned in his bed, the soft moonlight cascading through the slits of his blinds. His hand pulled the draw opened and quickly he groped for the cell phone Rukia had given him. It was a long time back, but she had given it to him if he had to reach her, or if he needed to find hollows. Perfect.

The cell phone was black and sleek and small, but not too small that it became cumbersome for him to find it. Once the cell was in his possession, his finger pressed the 'on' button and after the welcome screen, he was free to navigate to the 'hollow locator'. Then his eyebrows furrowed. "You have five new messages," he muttered, and without any hesitation, he clicked "ok" and began listening to his voice mail.

"Hey, I hope you like this phone. Use it. It wasn't cheap you know. Anyways, sorry to run off like that, nii-sama called me back home. Bye." She never greeted him, "Yo," and now that he thought about it, she never really said, "Hello," or "Hey," but rather, "Baka," or just his name, "Ichigo." But for some reason, hearing her voice made him smile a little.

Then he heard a voice instructing him to click various numbers for a set of different options. He hit seven to hear the next one.

"So, it's two o'clock, human standard time, and I'm bored. I see you don't have the phone on. I bet you will later for hollow hunting." Then she laughed lightly. "Okay, bye."

Ichigo's thumb touched seven.

"Oh, what's the word we made up for when we _smell_ high _reiastu_. Well, I forgot it, but I'm smelling that right now. Maybe nii-sama is mad. I don't know. Oh," suddenly she sounded panicked, "I have to go. Bye."

Click.

"I should of--Hi, this Kuchiki Rukia. I'm calling on behalf of the thirteenth division Captain Ukitake. He had requested an order of--," then there came a short pause and her voice sounded less professional. "Sorry about that. I had to pretend I was doing something. Or else they would have…nevermind." She paused again and for some reason he felt her lips were curling up. Maybe it was in her voice when she said, "Bye," once again.

Click. Again.

"I'm going to be home, I mean back in the Living World, tomorrow morning." There was a noticeable hitch to her voice, maybe irritancy at her mistake of calling his home hers. "I'll explain when I get back." And for some reason, Ichigo imagined her rolling her eyes. "I'll see you at school, bye."

He hit six then.

Ichigo knew what he had done. And without another word, he set the phone under his pillow, and he was now able to go to bed.

Number six meant save all messages.

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Damn.**

**Summary**: The phone is amazing. It no longer made distance a barrier when she was in another dimension, away from him. Not that distance should bother him…but it did.

An account of their journey with…the phone… and how it has helped them with their growing relationship. It's jumpy. And messy. But it's Ichigo and Rukia.

_First inspired by The Office's Pam and Jim. Cutest couple ever. And then ideas expanded and it grew to this fic. Also, I was inspired by that one picture with Ichigo, Orihime, Rukia and Ishida on cell phones, and Rukia has this super cute outfit on…and Ichigo looks somewhat irritated (as usual), but it's a really cute picture! Enjoy and please review._

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**Phones Tie Me to You**

Written by the somewhat infamous Goku's Daughter

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**Say Cheese!**

He didn't know if she was purposely trying to tease him, or if she was really naïve. Because when Ichigo sifted through his new messages he found two photos from her, Kuchiki Rukia, sent via text.

The first one was just a pail of strawberries, and underneath she captioned, "See, I told you we have them here too." This one wasn't bad at all. In fact, it was kind of educating to know they had fruits in Soul Society too. But when he hit next, there was a picture of her mouth, her tongue and the strawberry.

Judging by the angle of the photo, Ichigo knew she took it herself. There was a strawberry in her free fingers, between the thumb and index, and her head was tilted upwards. Her lips were parted and her tongue slipped from her mouth and touched the tip of the red fruit.

Ichigo swallowed hard.

The caption he read, "And they taste good too!"

And then a scowl flittered across his face. A drop of cold sweat ran down his spine. He needed a cold shower.

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**Texting is NOT Allowed in Class**

He felt a vibration in his pant pocket. Ichigo hardly ever brought his phone to school, but today he did and he was hardly surprised to receive a text message from her, even though she sat beside him.

_i like school but this class is boring_

Ichigo almost smiled at her message, his eyes flickering upwards at the teacher before responding to the message. _Ye, i know. a hollow now would b nice_

As he sent the message, he glanced at her and waited for a reaction. She grinned, looking up at the sensei, who was suddenly quiet. Maybe the sensei knew what they were up to, and if Rukia and Ichigo were found out, their phones would be confiscated.

Without looking down, Rukia typed in a message. Call it a talent, Ichigo liked to joke, her only talent. _U think she know?_

_Mayb_. It took Ichigo some time to write that one.

In five minutes, he received: _O, gr8. hollow time. =)_

Her hand reached the air first. Once her bum was out of the seat, Ichigo asked to go to the bathroom as well, and he was excused out of class with the sensei and the class giving them an odd look.

You'd think they would be used to it by now.

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**Who's** **Paying**?

Ichigo wondered who exactly was paying for his phone bill, but since Rukia who bought him the phone, he wasn't surprised that she was the one paying for it.

Because nothing in life (or in the afterlife apparently) is free.

"So, how much does it cost?"

"What?"

"A call to the Living World while you're in Soul Society."

There was a pause on the line before she told him, "Between me and you, calls are free. Doesn't matter what dimension we're in."

Ichigo rolled over on his bed and looked through his window. The sky was cloudy and nighttime was near. "Okay." It was like a couple's plan then? "That includes texting?"

"Yeah."

So, it _was_ like a couple's plan.

"Urahara said it would be cheaper like this." And unbeknownst to Ichigo, her face became a little red too. She remembered when the hatted-man teased her about it when she signed Ichigo under her contract. But after the dangerous glare the short _shinigami_ gave him, Urahara laughed nervously and dropped the subject.

"I see." And it was true. Usually, couple's plan or family plans were cheaper than the standalone. Still, just the thought of _couples plan_ made his face warm too.

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**Call 911! **

You call 911 when you were in an emergency.

In Soul Society it was 311.

For her, it was star 01. That was the speed dial for Ichigo.

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**Nifty**

There was a nifty feature on his phone. It alerted him of special days, special events and there was even an alarm to alert him of a special time. Today his phone gave him the heads up for someone's birthday.

"What time are you coming back?"

"Why?"

"Because, it's your birthday." He let a deep breath out.

"You remembered."

"Yeah."

"And?"

"Happy birthday."

"Thanks." She laughed a little. "So what's the surprise?"

"Well, it's a surprise, so I'm not going to tell you."

She didn't say anything for a long moment. "In an hour." There was some static in the background and she waited till the reception was clear.

"Okay. Later."

"I hope there's bunnies involved."

"Bye, Rukia."

"Bye."

End of call. Duration: 19 minutes and 45 seconds.

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**Lock and Key**

It had to be at least six months since he started to use his phone. When he was bored, he would play around with it, just learning what other nifty features the cell had. Ichigo was glad there were at least ten games, useful in times when he had to wait somewhere on the train. The phone also had voicemail, but what he didn't expect was that he wouldn't be able to add his own music on the phone.

Groaning, Ichigo switched to the radio function, hoping to find some good music.

"Good afternoon. Welcome to the Seireitei at nine. I'm your host Ju Yung Ni and with special guest from the eleventh division, Seeang Lu."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Seireitei at nine? Eleventh division? He wondered if he was actually picking up airwaves to Soul Society's radio. Wait, they had radio too?

Then static came. Ichigo swiveled in his chair, holding his phone up and closer to the window for better reception, though he wasn't sure why he was picking up their signal in the first place.

"—is talks of a special engagement." This was another voice that Ichigo did not recognize either.

Then the host interjected, "But it's just a rumour?"

Seeang laughed a little. "If she is getting married," static interjection, "…I know there was discussion about this. Imagine how big a Kuchiki wedding would be!"

"Yeah, it would be something!"

Ichigo frowned. What wedding? Kuchiki? _Her_?

"Were you able to confirm this with Kuchiki Rukia herself?" Ju Yung asked then.

"Nope, not yet."

And that was all Ichigo heard before he shut the phone closed. From shock, of course.

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**Visuals**

"Don't sound like a perv."

"I'm not. It's just a simple question. Where are you and what are you wearing?"

"Why?"

"Just answer the question."

A sigh. "A red shirt. I'm right by my house, walking towards the park. Happy?"

"Yeah."

Before he turned the street corner, he saw her approach him. She was at least eleven meters away from him. "So now will you tell me who you're getting married to?"

"I told you, I'm not getting married."

Seven meters.

"I mean, you can go marry whoever you want. I don't care."

"Hey, did you hear me. I'm not getting married. They were just rumours."

Three meters.

Before Ichigo responded, Rukia shut her phone and greeted her friend with a swift kick in the leg.

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**Missed You**

He tried but she kept pressing the "ignore" option. Busy signal. Again.

Ichigo sighed, throwing his head back against his pillow. His long legs shifted barely as he exhaled deeply, inhaled deeply, and tried once again.

Busy.

"Whatever," he mumbled, turning over in his bed. She could be really stubborn; it was sometimes infuriating!

In the next hour, Ichigo tried yet again. Busy.

Then he really gave up.

She was ignoring him, he knew it. She was probably at Inoue's house right now. He couldn't believe how heated their argument became from the morning that led her to storm out of the house. It was unlike them. Don't get Ichigo wrong, they did bicker, but for it to escalate to _this_ point, where he was calling her frequently, had to say _something_.

Finally, Ichigo began typing something in his messages. Then he clicked 'send'.

_I'm sorry. _

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**Phonebook**

She couldn't find her name. Frustrated, Rukia rubbed her forehead with her two fingers, pressing hard and hoping the touch would inspire some ideas.

Did he actually delete it?

He did know her number off by heart but still, where could it go?

Rukia wasn't a quitter. The _shinigami_ scrolled down and examined each name in his phonebook. And then…she saw it.

**Shorty**.

Her eyes narrowed. That was better than calling her a midget.

Then she clicked on her supposed name for details.

**Home**: in my closet

**Birthday**: January 14, 2008

Then she clicked on edit and her lips curved up in a devious smile.

First of all, her name was Kuchiki Rukia. (Though later, when she would go through his phone, she would find that he changed it to just Rukia).

Then she changed his name to Hunny Bunny in her own phone, purposely leaving her cell out in the open for him to find. She knew there was a fifty-fifty chance that he would look through it. Rukia made a triumphant smile to herself.

The next week when she went through her phonebook again, his name was still Hunny Bunny. Odd. Either he didn't look through it, or he was okay with it.

But Renji was changed to "Baka."

So he had seen it! She laughed softly and strangely her face tickled with warmth.

Baka.

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**Phones Ties You to Me**

He remembered why he got the phone from her in the first place. With her disappearing and reappearing it was hard to keep tabs on her. Not that he needed to keep tabs on her, but you know, if he had to talk to her, or if she had to talk to him, they could and there would be no barrier in between.

Ichigo sighed, his face collapsing in the palms of his hands. His mood was rather foul, and he knew exactly why. Yesterday morning, he had broken his phone.

He breathed out loudly that even Karin could hear it across from the dinner table. No one really questioned him why he was pissed off or grouchy when he placed the broken item beside his plate.

"How did that misfortune happen?" Karin asked her big brother finally. The screen was black, the screen glass was shattered and the buttons were mashed in when she finally took it in her fingers to inspect it.

He rubbed his head in frustration. "I was late for school this morning and I guess it fell out of my pocket when I was rushing. When I came back, it was crushed and judging by those tires mark on the back, it's safe to say a car ran over it." Ichigo could almost hear Rukia saying, "Well, that was stupid," which irritated him more – but to hear her voice would be better than not knowing where the hell she was now.

But the truth was he worried about her. Knowing that she was only a phone call away somewhat cooled down that feeling.

"Well, do you have warranty for it?" Yuzu asked next, her mouth twisted into a troubled frown for her older brother.

He hesitated his answer. "Uh, I don't think so."

Suddenly Isshin brightened up and exclaimed, "Don't worry son! Rukia-chan will be back in no time—"

"A week."

"Aw, Ichi-nii misses her!" Yuzu exclaimed next.

He crossed his arms over his chest. "I do not!"

Isshin laughed loudly then. "Why won't you go check the mail box, my son!" Tears flooded down his eyes over his son's teenage angst. Ichigo gave him a strange look instead, and his body tensed in case he had to defend himself physically from his father. But without wasting anymore time, he hurried to the mailbox and found a suspicious looking box with Urahara's address on it. On it read: Special Delivery to Kurosaki Ichigo. Please Handle with Care.

Ichigo shook it a bit, despite the "handle with care" part and then ripped the box open. In it was another cell. It was black, sleek and skinny. Attached was a note: _I heard about the phone, so I got Urahara to send you another one. Don't lose/break/burn this thing again, or I WILL HURT YOU!_

_Xoxox Shorty _

How she found out, he was not sure. Probably through Urahara since he went to Urahara first about the broken phone and hence why he knew there was no warranty.

Ichigo then turned on the cell and already found a text message waiting for him. It was the same as the note and he couldn't help stop the sweat from rolling down the side of his face. Then quickly he sent an outgoing message: _Thank You_.

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**Goodbye**

What the hell was the point in having a phone when the person never picked it up? Ichigo grunted a few choice words under his breath and his irritancy magnified with each passing second. She was gone for two weeks now, the biggest stretch of time for her to be missing, and for some reason he knew she was not going to return.

It was that stupid text message she sent him. _Goodbye, Ichigo._

She never said, "Goodbye." Not like that. What was with this formalness between them?

He groaned loudly, almost chucking his second cell phone out of his window. He had tried to call her but she would not pick up. Ichigo worried if she was on some sort of dangerous mission and now she was dead. Or if she was not allowed to come back.

Both possibilities made him stop breathing that soon he had to remind himself to inhale and exhale.

Quickly, he texted: _Call or text me. R u ok?!_

Even after an hour, she had not replied. Stupid phone. After three years of using the cell, Ichigo would never think he'd ever curse this electronic device. But today he did. What good is it when the other person was dead?!

Then he forced himself to calm down. He didn't _feel_ that she was dead. Ichigo still did not like her short text.

So, again, he texted her. _Where r u?_

Still after ten minutes, there was no reply. Then he called her, deciding to fill her inbox until she responded.

"Hey Rukia, I need you to call me because I don't like cryptic messages. This is worse than your stupid coded messages. So call me, okay? You said you'll come back in three days and it's two weeks now, not that I'm counting the time. Later."

End of call.

The next half an hour came and he decided to leave another message. "Rukia, you know if you're in some sort of trouble, I'll be there. Unless you're trying to protect me again. Because you should know if you are, I'm not going to listen to you. You never listen to me." He let out a sigh as he brushed his hair with his fingers. "Give me some sort of sign that you're okay and stop being AWOL. Bye."

Ichigo scratched his head again, not knowing what else to do with his nervous energy.

"Listen, I hope you're really not getting married. Or that this is some sort of joke but I'm not laughing, so it can't be a joke. If I don't hear a response in 24 hours, I'm seriously going to go to Soul Society, okay? Bye."

He plopped onto his bed and waited and waited. There was no reply.

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**Full Circle**

Rukia sighed softly, hitting number 6. She saved all fifteen messages he left for her. She should have replied. She should have at least told him why she was leaving, forever. Rukia was no coward but she knew she couldn't face him. And more else, she was afraid what he would do to her or say to her.

At this point, the phone failed him and she wouldn't be surprised that he was cursing the cell. She got all of his text messages and fought with herself to reply. In the end, she threw her battery in the Kuchiki garden, rendering her red phone out of commission.

"So, I guess the phone isn't that useless," she heard a voice behind her. Her whole body stiffened in the Kuchiki garden, where she found solitude and peace. "I realized contacting Renji would be smarter since he would know what the hell is going on." The voice remained behind her but she knew who it was.

The sun beat down on them while a multitude of pink roses surrounded them. The colour of the petals resembled much to Byakuya's petals from his _bankai_ attack. Really, those roses were here because Hisana loved them the most.

Rukia could feel sweat drip down her back. It wasn't that her _shinigami_ clothes were too much for this heat but the pressure she suddenly felt from the young man behind her. And despite this, she remained quiet.

He shoved his cell beside her ear and after clicking a few times, a message played. "Yo, Ichigo, I just got your message. I thought Rukia told you what was going on." Then he paused, sucking in a breath. It was Renji. "Yeah, it wasn't just a rumour. Years ago the Kuchiki elders wanted to get her married. Rukia declined with _taicho's_ support. Then just recently they wanted her to stop living in your world, with you. They feared her long-term residency tainted their royal house and asked her to stop spending so much time there. Eventually it came down to choosing Soul Society or the Living World but I don't suspect that's the only reason that made her stop coming to see you. It is taboo for a _shinigami_ to be with a human, you know? But then again, you're not just a human. So I figure, there has to be more and the only clue I have is she just wants you to be a normal human and to live your life. That's all she said to me. It's as if she wants you to be like she hadn't met you and made you who you are. But knowing you, you're not going to accept that. That's probably why she's giving you the silent treatment now, hoping you'd just give up. That's as much as I know. I can go talk to her if you want. Later."

For a long moment, nothing was said. The young man closed his phone shut before standing up straight behind her. She could hear his _shinigami_ robes flutter with the passing, warm breeze and desperately she tried to calm her racing heartbeat thumping in her chest.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked first. "Was Renji right?"

Her head hung and she remained silent.

Then he dropped his phone on her head, which made her turn around at him and open her mouth to yell. But no words came out and instead she took a seat again. Ichigo's face hadn't changed while he walked around the bench, standing directly in front of her. "Answer me, Rukia. You can't just leave without any means of talking to you and think that I would just accept it like this."

Finally she looked up at him. She couldn't hide anymore. Her eyes settled on his troubled face and she tried to smile, but she was unable to when she saw his expression. "What did you come here for Ichigo?"

"To get answers."

"And when I give you answers?"

"Then take you back home."

"And if I don't want to go back with you?"

He made a "che" sound at that.

"This is my home. I am a Kuchiki. This is the Kuchiki house."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Don't be stupid, Rukia." His hands touched her shoulders and shook her hard enough for her to look up at him. "Tell me, is Renji right?"

Hazel and indigo met with smoldering heat. She nodded at him. "You didn't do anything wrong. I did. I acted like…" she halted, rolling her eyes away. "I never should have given you the phone. How long do you think we can do what we were doing now, Ichigo? How long do you think I can sleep over at your house? Huh?" With the flare of her temper, she slapped his hands away and pushed at his chest to give herself some space. "Things can't stay like this forever and you know it!" She was on her feet now and it was like she was ready to fight him.

He glared at her so hard she thought daggers would come out of his eyes. That did not deter her, though. "If you wanted space, then fine. That doesn't mean you have to ignore my phone calls! You could have told me you were okay!"

"Okay, fine, I should have told you I was fine! But I was trying to ignore you for a reason!"

"And why is that?!"

"Why do you think I never got married for? Why do I bother to visit you so often? I can't believe how stupid I am!" And how long it took for her to realize it too; but she never admitted to anything.

He stopped for a moment, his body stiffening.

"How can two people who spend so much time together not…fall…" she stopped suddenly, her upper teeth biting down on her lip. "You know the whole reason of the phone was to close the space and distance between us. Not because you only worry about me. Not because I just wanted some means to annoy you. But it was to make it okay and easier to be with you without us being messy and complicated. And when I realized this, the true purpose of the phone, I got…scared."

Another moment of silence came before Ichigo took a step towards her. His hand held her chin, tilting her head up to make her look at him. "If you wanted to stay here, then fine. I would understand. But what makes you think I can live my life and pretend that you were never there?" His chest began to heave, like he was out of breath, and he came closer because he didn't know what else to do. "You can't just disappear, okay? I can't pretend that you never existed. And why can't we continue like we do? Who says I don't want you in my life? Who else would I call or text or fight hollows with?" His words were quick, as if he never processed what he was actually saying and just let it out of his heart.

"Fool, I don't think you get—"

His hazel eyes steeled and flashed gold for a brief moment. "Yes, I do," he interrupted. "You pushed me over the edge Rukia." Then before she knew it his mouth came down on hers.

Eyes widened but she was helpless and hopeless. She melted into him, her hands gripping into the folds of his _shinigami_ clothes. His fingers were lost somewhere in her locks, his lips tasting her till he was breathless.

Her head met his hard chest and she didn't know what else to think. The only thing that came out of her mouth was, "I guess I should find my battery, then."

And all of a sudden, it became messy and complicated without the cell phone, without that barrier. But it was okay. Phones break. Batteries die. There were other things that tied him to her and her unto him. So much more.

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End

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_As I said, jumpy and messy but still fun, right? Ahaha. This piece below was originally in the story but then I cut it out cause I wanted his family in on the love. I'm only inserting it here for more… enjoyment?_

**No Warranty?**

"That was really stupid."

"Shut up. It was an accident."

"Uh huh." Her slender fingers picked up the broken phone. The screen had cracked entirely and the buttons has been mashed in. "So how did this happen?"

He shoved his hands in his pockets and released a sigh. "I was late this morning for school and it must have fallen out of my pockets. When I was at school, I realized it was gone, and well, here we are now and a car must have run over it."

Her eyes flickered up to his, her tongue wetting her lips.

"What's that look for?"

Then her head hung suddenly and she groaned, "I have no warranty for phone replacements."

A bead of sweat rolled down his head. "How much is it going to cost?"

Rukia finally stood up beside her friend and she smiled weakly at him. "Don't worry about that. You'll just be phoneless until I come back."

"And when will that be?"

"Hmm, well if I decide to get married—" At that notion, Ichigo threw her a menacing look and she quickly told him the truth. "Maybe a week. So don't miss me too much."

Ichigo scoffed at her. "Who's going to miss you?" And he was ready for it. A swift kick in the leg.

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_Now really… it's over. Please review._


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